I wanted to sneak this in here because after walking around the polytrauma unit in the VA this week, my aspirations to use my nurse practitioner and acupuncture skills in this population grew exponentially. The Louisville VA is one of the best in the country - the staff is always smiling and polite and the hospital itself is holding up well when they could have let it go to pot since plans are in the works for a new facility. The time may be ripe for a proposal, especially since it is a growing trend.

Acupuncture Today November, 2009, Vol. 10, Issue 11

Comprehensive Military PTSD Treatment Programs

By Joe C. Chang, MAOM, Dipl. OM, LAc

So far, there are four comprehensive posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and combat stress treatment programs in the U.S. Army that have incorporated different CAM approaches in their treatment programs.

Many of these comprehensive programs started as a result of the Ft. Bliss Restoration and Resilience Center, near El Paso, Texas. This integrative approach treats many of the symptoms of PTSD that are not addressed through the standard mental health protocols that included cognitive-behavioral therapy and pharmacotherapy. The Ft. Bliss program incorporated medical massage, meditation, yoga, acupuncture, marital/family therapy and Reiki with standard treatment protocols . Additionally, soldiers go through a daily 45-minute "power walk" and play water polo three times a week.

At the Warrior Combat Stress Reset Program at Ft. Hood (near Killeen, Texas), their intensive, combat-stress three-week program focuses on the reduction of hyperarousal and reactivity. Reducing these core symptoms of combat stress and posttraumatic stress disorder allows other treatments to be more effective. The program includes group counseling, biofeedback, individual counseling and alternative therapies (massage, acupuncture, yoga and Reiki).

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